


smells like a river

by lostin_space



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe, High School, Homelessness, M/M, mentions of abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-16
Updated: 2019-11-16
Packaged: 2021-01-31 17:21:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21449899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostin_space/pseuds/lostin_space
Summary: Maybe Michael smells like a river because he bathes in one.
Relationships: Michael Guerin/Alex Manes
Comments: 11
Kudos: 110
Collections: Roswell New Mexico ▶ Michael Guerin / Alex Manes





	smells like a river

**Author's Note:**

> slightly inspired by [imakegoodlifechoices](https://tmblr.co/miXaB45t5j2k3CGnxLSawKQ)‘ addition to [this post](https://imakegoodlifechoices.tumblr.com/post/189042376183/youaremyworldlois-i-love-me-sassy-i-fucking)

“Stupid fucking test, stupid fucking grades, stupid fucking… _fuck!”_

Alex kicked a tree he walked by and swatted at a branch overhead, doing his best to get his anger out. His dad had kicked him out for the night, told him to come back after he retook that test he failed in the morning and aced it. He couldn’t go to Mimi or Arturo because they had made it pretty clear that, next time something happened, they were calling CPS. Which would be worse than his current situation.

That meant he was wandering through the woods and hoping he didn’t get eaten by a bear or something. Right now, though, he was pretty happy kicking shit.

He only stopped moving when he heard a splash that he definitely didn’t cause.

Alex peered through the trees carefully, looking towards a little clearing that he hadn’t noticed until just then. There was a creek in the middle of it and, in that creek, there was a boy. Alex held his breath, watching the boy dunk completely beneath the water before standing up. His cheeks flushed whenever he got a view of the boy’s bare ass lit by nothing but the moonlight. It took him a few minutes of staring to realize he was bathing in the creek at night, washing his hair and his body with a single bar of soap. His feelings quickly turned to pity.

He went to take a step away, to give him at least some form of privacy, but then a twig snapped beneath his foot and alerted the guy in the creek.

“Hello?” he called, looking around and Alex’s heart jumped in his throat. _That’s Michael Guerin. “_Is someone out there?”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fucking fuck,” Alex cursed, looking around for an escape so he didn’t look like he was creeping on Michael Guerin fucking bathing.

Guerin walked out of the creek, looking like some sort of fucking Greek God. He was more visibly toned than any 17-year-old boy had the right to be and he was dripping wet and completely illuminated in the moonlight. It made Alex almost completely forget that he was legit bathing in a creek.

“_Who the fuck?” _he whispered to himself, becoming so distracted by his unfairly fit body that he forgot he was supposed to be getting away before he got caught.

“Alex?” Michael asked, his voice a little softer as he neared him. Alex wasn’t sure where the towel around his hips came from, but he was thankful for it. “Alex Manes?”

“Fuck,” Alex hissed, panicking as he tried to look normal. He leaned against a tree. “_Heeeey.”_

Micahel furrowed his eyebrows as he stood in front of him. “Hey?” _Fuck._

_“_Funny meeting you here,” he said. There was no good way to do this. In fact, this was increasingly more and more horrific as time passed. Michael forced a smile.

“What are you doing here?” he asked. For some reason, he didn’t seem to have any shame for the fact that he was bathing in a creek. Alex didn’t want to be the one to point it out first.

“I was just… walking,” Alex said because he couldn’t say, ‘_I was trying to buy time until the morning so I could retake a test and then go home’_. Michael nodded though he didn’t seem to believe him. Which was fair. “What are _you _doing here?”

Michael eyed him. “Swimming.”

“At night?”

“What better time?”

“Naked?”

“I didn’t really expect anyone to show up.”

_With soap? _He didn’t say the last question. Clearly, Michael didn’t want to admit what he was doing which made sense. Alex didn’t want to either. They just stared at each other for a minute as they tried to figure out what to say. This wasn’t a very normal conversation, especially when Alex was very aware the guy slept in his truck and that Alex himself didn’t have a place to sleep either. There was absolutely nothing normal about this.

“You got nowhere to go?” Michael asked, no shame in his voice and no pity either. He was just watching him with eyes that knew too much. Alex gulped.

“Yes I do, I’m just wal-”

“Alex,” Michael said, “C’mon. You don’t have anywhere to go tonight, do you?”

Alex just stared at him for a little longer until Michael jerked his head into the direction of the creek. Hesitantly, Alex followed. Michael very quickly put his clothes back on despite the fact that he was still wet with creek water. Then he led Alex through a small strip of trees before he saw Michael’s truck come into view.

“I park it here at night so I don’t get arrested,” Michael admitted, jumping into the bed of the truck. He pulled out two sleeping bags and held out the thicker one to Alex. It was at that moment that Alex realized he wasn’t angry or embarrassed anymore.

“You can get arrested for sleeping in your truck?” Alex asked softly, climbing into the bed as well. Once he was in, Micahel grabbed two poles and began to rig a tarp over back of the truck. It wasn’t even a question if Alex was staying there. He was just… putting a roof over his head with no confirmation. Fuck, he’d had barely two conversations with this guy before.

“Rich people think the solution to homelessness is punishment,” Michael said simply. Alex didn’t know what to say to that, so he said nothing.

It took him a few minutes, but eventually, Michael had covered the bed of the truck with a tarp to keep out the rain or bugs or whatever he learned to protect himself from. He climbed into his sleeping bag and Alex very hesitantly followed suit. He was confused by how unquestioning he was because Alex had a million of his own. He was just… helping.

“So, uh, when I do have a place to go,” Alex said softly into the darkness. The tarp canceled out any moonlight, making it nearly impossible to see Guerin at all. It made it easier to speak. “Most nights I do. There’s a shed behind my house… It’s warm and usually unlocked. My dad locked it tonight, though. He doesn’t usually even go in there. So…”

“Okay,” Michael said, “Thanks.”

“Yeah,” Alex whispered back, ”Thanks.”

**Author's Note:**

> also on my tumblr: spaceskam


End file.
